Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota
| Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| Top official: | J. Michael Stoffel, executive director |
| Year founded: | 1915 |
| Active members: | 135,000 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $26,904,000,000 |
- See also: Public pensions in Minnesota
The Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota is a Minnesota state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's teachers. The Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota had $26,904,000,000 ($26.904 billion) in total assets under management as of July 1, 2023.[1]
The management of public pension funds can indicate support or opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investment practices. ESG investing considers the extent to which corporations align with and promote certain non-financial standards, such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals. States typically hire asset management companies (AMCs) to direct pension plan investments, some of which have ESG commitments that guide their strategies.
This article features the following sections:
- Background: Information about the structure and functions of the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota, including a list of contracting AMCs that are participants in the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and the Climate Action 100+ initiative.
- Governance and accountability: Details about the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota, founded in 1915, invests the assets of and provides funding for the Teachers Retirement System (TRA) of Minnesota. TRA operates as a defined benefit plan based on a formula established by California state law These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary—provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's public school teachers.[2]
The Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota served over 135,000 active members and approximately 68,000 retirees and beneficiaries as of March 2024.[2]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota as of July 1, 2023:[1]
| Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota pension performance (Jully 1, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets[3] |
| 2023 | 76.85%% | $8,104,000,000 | $26,904,000,000 |
Assets and asset management
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
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| • What is ESG? • Enacted ESG legislation • Arguments for and against ESG • Opposition to ESG • Federal ESG rules • ESG legislation tracker • Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletter |
Asset management companies (AMCs) are hired to manage asset investment for state pension funds across all 50 states.
As of October 2024, 330 AMCs were members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), and 391 AMCs were investor participants in the Climate Action 100+ initiative. Both international asset manager initiatives aimed to align the investment decisions of signatories with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.[4][5]
NZAM announced on January 13, 2025, that it was suspending operations and removing the commitment statement and list of signatories from its website. The group said in a statement it would reevaluate its plans and operations in light of “[r]ecent developments in the U.S. and different regulatory and client expectations in investors’ respective jurisdictions.”[6]
List of AMCs contracting with the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota
The Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) manages investments for the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota. SBI contracted with 125 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of June 30, 2021. Of those companies, 13 were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and 18 were members of NZAM, as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota:[7]
- Acadian Asset Management LLC (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Adams Street Partners
- Advent International
- Affinity Ventures
- Angelo, Gordon & Co.
- Apax Partners
- AQR Capital Management, LLC
- Ariel Investments, LLC
- ArrowMark Colorado Holdings, LLC
- Arsenal Capital Partners
- Ashmore Investment Management Ltd. (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Asia Alternatives
- Audax Group
- Avenue Capital Partners
- Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Banc Fund
- Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC
- BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Blackstone Capital Partners
- Blackstone Strategic Partners
- Bridgepoint
- Brookfield Asset Management (NZAM)
- Canyon Partners
- Cardinal Partners
- Carlyle Group
- CarVal Investors
- Chicago Growth Partners (William Blair)
- Columbia Threadneedle Investments (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Court Square Capital Partners
- Crescendo
- CVC Capital Partners
- Dodge & Cox
- Earnest Partners LLC
- EIG Global Energy Partners
- EnCap Energy
- Energy & Minerals Group (EMG)
- Energy Capital Partners
- EnerVest Energy
- Fidelity Institutional Asset Management LLC
- First Reserve
- Gold Hill Venture Lending
- Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (Climate Action 100+)
- Goldman Sachs Mezzanine Partners (Climate Action 100+)
- Goldner Hawn Johnson and Morrison
- GTCR
- HarbourVest
- Hellman and Friedman
- Hood River Capital Management, LLC
- Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management, LLC
- HPS Investment Partners
- IK Investment Partners
- J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (NZAM)
- Kohlberg, Kravis and Roberts (KKR)
- Landmark Partners
- LBC Credit Partners
- Leonard Green & Partners
- Lexington Capital Partners
- LSV Asset Management
- Lubert-Adler
- Macquarie Investment Management Advisers (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Madison Dearborn Capital Partners
- Marathon Asset Management LLP
- Martin Currie Inc. (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Martingale Asset Management, L.P.
- McKinley Capital Management, LLC
- Merced Capital
- Merit Capital Partners
- Merit Energy Partners
- MHR Institutional Partners
- Morgan Stanley Investments Management Inc.
- Natural Gas Partners
- Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- NISA Investment Advisors, LLC
- Nordic Capital
- North Sky Capital
- Oak Hill Capital Management, Inc.
- Oaktree Capital Management
- Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (PIMCO)
- Paine Schwartz
- Payden & Rygel (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Peregrine Capital Management
- Permal PE (formerly Glouston Capital Partners)
- Permira
- PGIM Fixed Income
- Pimco Bravo
- Portfolio Advisors
- Prudential Global Investment Management
- Public Pension Capital Management
- Pzena Investment Management, LLC (NZAM)
- Record Currency Management LLC
- Rice Hall James & Associates, LLC
- Rockpoint
- Rockwood
- Sands Capital Management, LLC
- SBI Internal Portfolio (Climate Action 100+)
- Sheridan Production Partners
- Silver Lake Partners
- Silverpeak Real Estate Partners
- Split Rock Partners
- State Street Global Advisors (NZAM)
- Summit Partners
- T. Rowe Price (NZAM)
- TA Associates Realty
- TCW Asset Management
- The Rock Creek Group, LLC (NZAM)
- Thoma Bravo
- Thoma Cressey
- Thomas H. Lee Partners
- Thomas, McNerney & Partners
- TPG Capital
- TSSP
- Varde Partners
- Vestar Capital Partners
- Vista Equity Partners (NZAM)
- Warburg Pincus
- Wayzata Investment Partners
- Wellington Management Company LLP (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Wellspring Capital Partners
- Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe (WCAS)
- Western Asset Management Company, LLC
- Whitehorse Capital
- Wind Point Partners
- Windjammer Capital Investors
- Winslow Capital Management, LLC
- Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the 11-member board of trustees that oversees the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota. The board is specific to oversight of the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota is made up of 11 members. The board consists of five elected trustees and three statutory members. Four of the five elected trustees are active members of TRA and one is a TRA retiree. The statutory members are the commissioner of Education, the commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget, and a representative of the Minnesota School Boards Association. The trustees annually elect a president and a vice-president.[8]
Board of trustees membership
A 11-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of Teachers Retirement Association of Minnesota. The following individuals served on the board as of May 2024::[8]
- vacant, president
- Joel Stencel, vice president
- Erin Campbell
- Thomas Carr
- Willie Jett
- Patty Hand
- Julie Reno
- Kevin Lindstrom
- Kathy Oellerich
- David Rondestvedt
- Mary Broderick
See also
- Public pensions in Minnesota
- Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Arguments about environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing
- Reform proposals related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- State legislative approaches opposing ESG investing
- State legislative approaches supporting ESG investing
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 ‘’TRA’’, “Actuarial Valuation Report For Funding Purposes As of July 1, 2023,” July 1, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 ‘’TRA’’, “About,” accessed May 10, 2024
- ↑ Note: By default, this refers to the actuarial valuation of total assets. In some cases, the total market value of assets is shown instead. See the cited source for details.
- ↑ The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, "The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative," accessed January 26, 2023
- ↑ Climate Action 100+, "The Three Goals," accessed June 20, 2023
- ↑ Pensions and Investments, "Net Zero Asset Managers initiative to suspend activities in wake of BlackRock departure," accessed January 15, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Ballotpedia: Asset management data for state-administered pension funds across the 50 states," March 2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 ‘’TRA’’, “Board Members,” accessed May 10, 2024
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